For 20 years, the jubilant citizens of Brasstown, N.C., have welcomed the new year by catching a wild opossum, placing it in a Plexiglas cage draped with tinsel and slowly lowering it over a cheering crowd as fireworks explode in the night sky.

But last December, this mountain-town tradition caught the eye of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who have since fought to stop Brasstown’s annual possum drop.

“Possums are very shy,” said Martina Bernstein, director of litigation for PETA. “They are wild animals. You can’t explain to them that you just want to have fun.”

On Tuesday, Senior Administrative Law Judge Fred Morrison Jr. denied the state’s motion to dismiss PETA’s case seeking an end to the practice. That could put this year’s possum drop in jeopardy.

“To us, it’s clear that the possum suffers,” Bernstein said. “Other people may not see that, and it’s hard to find experts.”